“Don’t worry, there won’t be a test.” I threw another chocolate in my mouth, then realized Griffin hadn’t had a single one. I pushed the box. “C’mon. I don’t wanna sit here eating all by myself.”
“If you insist,” he said. “Are there any you don’t particularly like?”
“Hm… Those dark chocolate ones. They’re too bitter. And the syrup tastes weird.”
Griffin took the one I pointed out, saving me from having to eat it.
“So, was I correct about you having a sweet tooth?” Griffin asked with a slightly smug grin. “I didn’t notice until our server pointed it out, but we ordered the same thing that day at the café. The chocolate croissant.”
I blushed. “Yeah, I do. What about it?” To accentuate my point, I ate another chocolate. With a glance at the nearly half-empty box, I realized I should probably slow down before I devoured them all.
“Nothing.” Griffin smiled. “It’s endearing.”
“You mean because it’s childish?”
He clicked his tongue. “I didn’t say that. You’re putting words in my mouth again.” Before I could respond with a scathing remark, Griffin leaned in and put his hand on my wrist. His warmth spread over my skin. “There’s no need to get defensive, Jake.”
I bristled, the hairs on the back of my neck raising like a cornered animal. My body froze. That scent wafted over from Griffin again - the one that pulled at my core, almost magnetic.
“I’m not getting defensive,” I mumbled.
He smiled. “Then accept my compliment.”
I snorted. “Being calledendearingis a compliment?”
“I meant it as one.”
He’s hitting on me,I thought. My blood began to race and my cheeks turned warm. My first instinct was to run away, like it always was when I didn’t have the upper hand. But this was my home - I had nowhere else to go.
Griffin watched me, waiting for a reaction. His expression was soft but unreadable.
Finally, I blurted out, “What? What do you want from me, Griffin?”
He blinked in surprise. “Want? I don’twantanything. I’m just telling you how I feel.” He smiled, a bit grimly. “I have a feeling both of us are having trouble figuring that one out.”
What was he admitting to me? That he was just as confused about his emotions as I was?
“Can I ask you a question, Jake?” Griffin asked quietly.
I swallowed, my throat tightening again. The air was taut with tension. I nodded.
“Why did you invite me here tonight?” he asked. “Please be honest.”
The heat beneath my skin from when Griffin had touched my arm spread throughout my body, filling me like a vessel. I licked my lips.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“You seemed to startle yourself when you invited me over that day,” Griffin went on.
I cringed. “You noticed?”
He nodded. “I didn’t know what to think. But I wanted to give this a try.” He gestured between us. “Whateverthisis.”
I watched the muscles in his arm as he moved, barely concealed by the white button-up shirt he wore.
And with the movement came something else - that intoxicating scent again. One I couldn’t escape from. Something about it made the dam break inside of me, and the words spilled out.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll just say it. I don’t know how the hell I feel. I like you - as a person, I mean. I don’t love you. The sex we had was hot and - I wanna do it again. Okay?”
